Another Trip Down Memory Lane

I follow a number of food blogs (no surprise there). One of my Favorites is Octoberfarm. It not only is great to look at, but has great food and gardening ideas. A few weeks back she did a piece on City Chicken. When I was growing up, my Mom made these and they were called Mock Chicken Legs. According to the blog, chicken was quite expensive and this was a substitute.  The meat is pork and veal because they were cheap?  I can't imagine veal ever being cheap.  I also had a difficult time finding some. Apparently it is not very popular. The first two pieces I found had to be returned because they were 'bad'. It took a lot of Fresh Wave to get the smell out of my house. Finally I found two suitable veal chops.  I cut the pork tenderloin and veal chops into cubes and placed them on skewers.  They are then dusted with flour, dipped in beaten egg and coated with cracker meal.  They are browned in a heavy pot; then chicken stock is poured about half way up them and finished off in the oven. It brought back lots of memories for not only myself, but a number of my FB friends.

The 'legs' were served with Creamy Spring Peas with Pancetta.  Sugar snap peas, snow peas and small English peas are blanched and set aside. The pancetta is browned and removed to a paper towel. Flour is added to the drippings along with chicken broth and heavy cream.  When thickened, the peas are added back to the pan along with lemon juice S&P.  The dish is served with the crumbled pancetta.  I did  not care for the sauce at all. Next time I will blanch the peas and dress with an EVOO-lemon juice vinaigrette and the pancetta or bacon. A lovely dish to use fresh spring peas in several forms.

I found some fresh rhubarb at the market and decided to use it in a dessert.  I found a simple recipe for sorbet.  The cubed rhubarb is simmered with sugar, water and orange juice until softened.  I cooled it a bit and put it in a blender until smooth.  It is put in the freezer until firm.  It will need to be thawed slightly to scoop it into balls for serving.  A sprig of mint is added for color. I expect this recipe would work for a number of fresh fruits and will try it again when peaches are in season.

Except for the sauce on the peas, this was an excellent dinner. I have begun looking into some new and different foods for Cinco de Mayo.  Stop by next week to see what I come up with.

Stay safe and dry through the spring storms we all seem to be experiencing.